Silence
by Zororules
Summary: Uchiha Itachi was always quiet, except when he was alone with Hana.
1. Night

Itachi/Hana. I don't own Naruto... I wish I did though.

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Uchiha Itachi was always a quiet person, anyone who chose to remember the traitor could always say, without doubt, that he never said anything more than he had too. There was only one person in Konoha who knew differently, when she had Itachi alone, he would talk more than any other time in his life. Inuzuka Hana knew more about the moody Uchiha prodigy than anyone else in the village, or at least, she thought she did.

The streets were quiet, late at night, which was when Hana chose to walk through the village. It gave her time to think, even when she didn't have a destination, she always ended up at the same place. That place, their place. The Haimaru Sankyodai followed silently; this was a common routine for them. Hana stopped in front of the entrance to the small cabin in the woods. Forming hand seals she undoes the genjutsu that she placed on the entrance last time. She never wanted anyone else to set foot in this place, except her and him. The door opened and she walked inside, with her dogs trailing in after her. Closing the door she inhaled the scent, that familiar scent, his scent. Flipping the light switch she walked over to the desk and sat down. Glancing down at the scroll that she had been reading the last time she was here, she pushed it off the desk and felt around for the secret panel. Finally opening the secret drawer she pulled out the box hidden inside. Opening the lid, she smiled softly as she pulled out the dried white flower that was on top of a black shirt. Glancing at the bed against the wall, she remembered all the times that she would lay in the bed and talk, driving him crazy as he tried to complete his reports. Until he would start yelling at her to shut up and get out. She never did though. Sitting on the bed she leaned against the side of the desk, and glanced at the chair. And just for a second, she saw him sitting there again, writing and glaring at her. Closing her eyes, she remembered when this had all began.

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What do you think? Review please! 


	2. Meeting

He was walking with Yuuhi Kurenai, she was talking about something, and he would nod or occasionally answer with a short phrase that would get her started again. She was younger than him, walking alone with the Haimaru Sankyodai. Even being younger, just graduating from the academy, she knew who he was. He was the Uchiha prodigy; the one they all relied on, the best ninja to grace Konoha since Hatake Kakashi. The thing that she wanted to see most was his sharingan, the red eyes with spinning black prongs. All the girls at the academy would talk about him, about the way he walked, the way he talked, not like they knew how he talked, as he never did, at least to them. Hana watched him closely; he didn't walk much different from Kurenai. His hands were in his pockets, with his head down and eyes closed, it was more of a stride with his jet-black hair falling in over his eyes. As they passed each other, his eyes flickered open and he glanced at her. His eyes meeting hers, she stared right back at him, until his eyes flickered forward again. She continued walking as though nothing had happened, but his eyes, those dark black eyes, had been so cold, so empty full of loneliness that she felt sad for him.

After that initial ' meeting,' if you could even call it a meeting, she decided to be his friend, since he was almost always alone. So every time that she saw him, she gave him a big smile and a hello. Usually he nodded, or stared at her blankly, but some days he would reply with a polite hello. It wasn't until she finally became a chuunin a couple of years later that they actually spoke more than a word to one another.

The Hokage had called her for a tracking mission; something about a missing hamster and no one could seem to find it. So they needed her dogs to track the little thing. Walking up to the Hokage's desk, she bowed formally.

" Hokage-sama," she said, he nodded pulling out a piece of paper.

" Hana-san, this is what the mission entails," he said handing the paper to her, " this is an easy mission, and I would give it to a genin team, but they can't track a hamster. And it belongs to a very rich woman, who will pay great amounts to have it returned. So good luck."

" Thank you, Hokage-sama," Hana replied bowing as she and her dogs left the room, she glanced down at them, " this has got to be the stupidest mission ever."

" Ah, no kidding," growled the biggest dog, " let's just get it over with." So we left, immediately, the dogs picked up on the scent and we were off. Soon we were miles from the village's entrance, getting further away by the minute.

" How could a hamster have gotten this far?" Hana wondered out loud, the dogs shrugged and continued to sniff out the hamster. Finally they stopped on a tree branch. " It's in the clearing ahead, but another person is there. Should we continue?" They looked at Hana who nodded, so they jumped into the clearing, where they saw a man racing around in the grass chasing the hamster.

" GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID THING!" he screamed trying to catch it, Hana stared at him blankly, " I HAVEN'T EATEN IN DAYS! YOU'RE MY DINNER!"

" Hey!" shouted Hana, the man stopped and glanced over at her, then he pounced on the ground grabbing the wriggling creature, " give me that hamster!"

" The hell I will! It's my dinner!" the man shouted back, Hana scowled at him.

" If you don't give it to me, I'll take it by force," she said calmly, he started laughing, the Haimaru Sankyodai started growling, " fine then. Shikyaku no jutsu!" Her teeth grew longer, and her claws came out as she and her dogs charged at the man. He stopped laughing, putting the hamster in his pocket, he evaded all the attacks sending all four flying across the field. They landed in a heap, Hana leaped up, he was no ordinary man, he was a ninja. And now he was walking towards her, gripping a kunai knife in his hand, she scowled darkly. Waiting for his attack, she watched him until he vanished; appearing behind her he knocked out the dogs and started to beat the crap out of her. He was just too fast; she couldn't keep up with his movements, even with her jutsu enacted. She crashed into a tree and slid to the bottom as he laughed at her. She could feel herself losing consciousness, but just before she did, she saw another man dressed in black appear in front of her, then everything went dark.

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Ok so thats this chapter, there will be more Itachi/Hana in the next chapter. Please Review! 


	3. Rain

Ok so at the moment this story is Itachi/Hana, but it might have some Itachi/Kurenai in it. But for now all Itachi/Hana.

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Uchiha Itachi was an ANBU captain, he was the prodigy ninja, he could do anything, complete any jutsu, be a success on any mission, and here he was protecting a stupid little chuunin who had gotten in the way of his mission. It was routine, kill the rogue shinobi, the Hokage had said nothing about having to save a chuunin and her dogs. The rogue idiot came charging at him, but soon went flying away in pieces as Itachi sheathed his sword on his back. Adjusting his headband he glanced at the ground where a hamster was staring at him fearfully. Cocking an eyebrow he picked it up curiously, holding it in front of his face.

" Strange," he muttered, putting the small terrified creature in a pouch, then he turned back to the unconscious chuunin, " now what do I do with you?" Hearing a noise behind him, he glanced back to see that her dogs were awake and walking over. Realizing that she was an Inuzuka he sighed and knelt in front of her. The dogs came to his side, and sat sniffing their master.

" Well what am I supposed to do with her?" Itachi wondered glancing at the biggest dog, he turned to look at Itachi.

" Help her," he replied simply, Itachi didn't move, " we need to get her to the village, into a shelter, it's going to rain." Itachi glanced up, noticing the rain clouds; he could sense the storm coming.

" There's not enough time to make it to the village," he said, the dogs grunted in agreement, " it's okay, I know a place that we might be able to reach in time." He leaned over and pulled her into his arms, shifting her until he thought that he could run with her. One arm was under her back, with the other under her legs, and her head was rested in the crook of his neck. He nodded at the dogs and they jumped into the trees, following Itachi as he led them away from the battlefield. As they ran he glanced down at the girl in his arms, he couldn't understand why he was helping her. It would have been easier to just leave her to die in the forest, but no, he had to help. Suddenly he looked up as a raindrop hit him on the cheek, swearing he stopped on a branch, the dogs landed beside him.

" We need to cover her with something," he said quickly, they nodded, " we can't let the rain get into her wounds." He finally pulled out a blanket, that he kept for survival situations and wrapped it around her. Then he jumped away with the dogs, all of them pushing Chakra into their legs so that they could go faster. Finally they reached their destination, a small cabin, that wasn't too far from the village. Itachi landed and leaned the girl against the wall.

" What are you doing?" the medium sized dog growled, " we need to get inside!"

" Urusai!" Itachi snapped as he activated his sharingan, forming hand seals he tapped the door, " kai! Okay, now we can go in." he leaned down and picked up the girl, as the dogs held the door for him, when he was in they shut it and shook themselves. He walked over to the small bed and laid the girl on top of the blanket. Sighing he pulled out a medical kit, and began bandaging her wounds, finally he dropped the rest of the kit. Standing he walked to the window and stared at the sky.

" This is going to last for a long while," he muttered darkly, glancing at the dogs, which were huddled at the foot of the bed to keep warm, " unless you want to try for the village, we're stuck here."

" We need Hana to wake up first," replied the large dog, the others nodded in agreement, all four of them glancing at the bed, " then we will decide what to do."

" Ah," Itachi replied sitting down at the desk, he began writing his mission report.

" What is this place?" asked the large dog, glancing around the room, at the messy piles of scrolls and paper, to the overflowing bookshelves.

" I study here," Itachi replied absentmindedly, he found that he liked talking to these dogs, " my friend Uchiha Shisui once worked here, but he gave it to me, so that I could have a place to escape to."

" Who are you?" the smallest dog asked him, he sighed.

" It's polite to introduce yourself first," Itachi muttered scratching something out.

" Right sorry," the smallest dog replied, " I'm Katsu, and this is Akira and Amaya. And you are?"

" Uchiha Itachi," he replied, noticing the dogs glance at one another, but before he can say anything more, they all look at the bed where the groan just came from. Katsu jumps up and licks Hana's face, she moans softly and her eyes flutter open. Bringing her hand up she buries it in Katsu's fur.

" Katsu?" she whispered, the dog nodded, suddenly she bolted upright, " Akira! Amaya!" Both dogs leaped up and came to her side, her breathing calmed as she saw them.

" What happened?" she muttered, " I remember that ninja, but then it's all dark. How did you get me out of there… and how the heck did you bandage my wounds."

" We didn't do anything," said Amaya, " like we could bandage your wounds. It was him, he saved you and brought us here when the storm started." Hana looked over at the desk, he was apparently oblivious to all that was happening beside him, her jaw dropped.

" Uchiha Itachi?" she gaped at him, he glanced over and nodded to her, then he continued to write on the paper, " what were you doing there? Aw damn! That stupid hamster's probably been blown to bits."

" Hamster? This hamster?" Itachi asked pulling out the hamster and handing it to her, she stared at it, the thing was asleep, " and I was there because that man was a rogue shinobi and I was sent to kill him. It was you who got in the way, usuratonkachi."

" Urusai!" Hana shouted, he looked over coolly, " it's not my fault this stupid thing went into that clearing."

" Whatever," Itachi muttered folding the paper and putting it in an inner pocket, he walked to the window and glanced out, " it's still raining pretty hard, do you feel up to heading back to the village?"

" Of course I do!" Hana said jumping up, she swayed and started to fall, when a strong hand caught her, " I'm fine!" Itachi rolled his eyes, and glanced at the dogs who nodded their agreement.

" I need to return to the village now," Itachi said as he picked Hana up again, " so you'll just have to deal." Hana muttered a couple of choice words at him, which he ignored, as he turned out the light. Stepping out he set her against the wall again; she stared at him as he performed some genjutsu on the door. Picking her up again he nodded to the dogs as they broke into a run for the village.

" Why do you put genjutsu on the door?" Hana asked folding her arms trying to keep warm, Itachi noticed this and stopped putting a blanket around her, " thank you."

" Ah," he replied as they started off again, " so that no one else can enter."

" Why don't you want people to enter?" Hana asked she could feel her eyelids growing heavy.

" Cause I don't like people," Itachi replied.

" Why?" Hana asked he scowled.

" They're annoying," he said looking down at her, " like you."

" Well your annoying," she said resting her head in the crook of his neck again, " so you should get along well with me." She trailed off as she fell into sleep, inhaling his scent she sighed, feeling safe in his arms. Itachi looked down and rolled his eyes as he and the Haimaru Sankyodai entered the village. Finally he walked into the hospital, intent on getting rid of this girl. But as he was laying her on a stretcher, her hand wouldn't let go of the intense grip on his arm. Scowling he followed along until one of the doctors managed to pry her hand off his arm, then he stepped out of the room, where the Haimaru Sankyodai were waiting.

" See you," he said nodding to the dogs as he walked down the hall.

" Thanks for your help," Amaya said, he raised a hand and vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Ok, so review! 


	4. Fun

Hana was released from the hospital soon after, and she returned the hamster and continued going on missions. She would occasionally stop by the cabin and look in the window, but it was always empty, due to the genjutsu. Some days she would try to undo the genjutsu, but always got knocked off her feet. The next time she saw Uchiha Itachi he was with his young brother, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke was on Itachi's back as they walked through the village, it was the first time that she had seen the moody prodigy smile, he seemed to really love his brother. They had stopped in front of the police building, and then continued, Hana smiled at them before walking home to meet her little brother, Kiba.

One morning, Hana awoke early and without waking the Haimaru Sankyodai, she slipped out of the house and started to walk through the village. She didn't even realize where she was going until she got there, standing in front of the small cabin in the woods. Walking up to the door she formed some hand seals and tapped it. Then she pushed on the door, but nothing happened. So she started kicking and banging on the door, all while yelling at the man inside.

" Itachi! OPEN THIS DOOR!" she shouted while still trying to break down the door, then it opened, and she felt the fist that was about to hit the door, hit something softer, mainly Itachi's nose. He grunted removing her fist and holding his nose.

" What the hell are you doing?" he snarled, checking if his nose was bleeding, " all you hand to do was turn the bloody doorknob! Usuratonkachi!"

" Oh," Hana said awkwardly, trying the doorknob, " I see." Itachi rolled his eyes and walked back over to his desk, and started to write. She walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning against the desk, resting her head on top of the desk. Itachi muttered something as he moved her ponytail off the paper that he was trying to write on. She sighed loudly, and heard him grinding his teeth so smirking she started whistling. He let out a low growl, and she stopped until the pen had touched the paper again, then she started up again. This continued for some time until Itachi stood up angrily knocking his chair to the floor.

" What do you want!?" he snapped angrily, she looked up at him calmly and shrugged, he closed his eyes, counting to ten, then he stood his chair up and sat down again.

" Hey Itachi?" Hana said staring at the ceiling, she heard his low murmur of acknowledgement, " sorry I hit you."

" It's fine," he said, she pulled out a kunai and started spinning it in her hand, " why are you here?"

" Because it was early and I felt like getting out of the house," she replied, turning to look at him she rested her arms on the desk, " why were you here?"

" This is my cabin," he replied moving her arms off the desk, " I prefer it to my house."

" Why?" Hana asked, he glared at her, " well I mean, you live on the Uchiha estate, why would you prefer this dump. Your house is huge!"

" That doesn't mean it is better," Itachi said softly, staring at the wall, " I prefer it here, it's more peaceful, and quiet… or at least it was." He glanced at her, as she laughed turning and leaning against the desk again. She missed the small smile that tugged at his lips.

" So do you have a mission today?" she asked him, he shook his head, " well neither do I. You know what?"

" What?" he asked, dropping his pen, knowing he'd never get any work done today.

" We should go and get some food," Hana said looking back at him, he stared at her blankly, " well I skipped breakfast and you must be hungry. So lets go get some yakisoba!"

" I don't like yakisoba," Itachi said wrinkling his nose, Hana rolled her eyes and stood up heading for the door, his voice stopped her, " but I might be up for some dango…"

" All right!" Hana said smiling, Itachi sighed, " dango it is!"

" Yeah, fine," he said picking up a paper and reading it, " but I need to finish this report first…"

" Screw the report," Hana said grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the desk, he barely had time to hit the light before she hauled him out the door, " you need to lighten up and have some fun!"

" I don't have time for fun," Itachi said, pulling his arm back and placing the genjutsu on the cabin again.

" Everyone has to have time for fun," Hana said as they walked back to the village, Itachi just shook his head, " well then you need to make time!"

" I'm an ANBU captain," he said looking over at her, " I have to train for missions, I'm supposed to be the best Uchiha ever! Do you have any idea what that's like?"

" Nope," Hana replied simply, Itachi's eye twitched.

" Thought so," he said, closing his eyes.

" But your already the best," Hana said, his eyes opened and he glanced at her, " so why do you need to keep trying to be the best, when your already the best?"

" Uh… my father," Itachi said trying to think of an answer.

" Does your father control your life?" Hana asked him, he stared at her for a moment then shook his head slowly, " then your going to have time for fun from now on! Okay?"

" Uh… I guess," Itachi, said slowly, Hana punched him in the arm he looked over.

" Promise?" Hana asked him, holding out her hand, he glanced down at it and sighed, taking her hand.

" Promise," Itachi said, releasing her hand. They walked in silence until the dango shop.

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Thats the chapter. Please REVIEW!!!


	5. Rumor

For months after that first day in the cabin, Hana would walk in on him in the morning, often with the Haimaru Sankyodai. They would stay there and drive him nuts until one of them had to leave for a mission, but after the mission she would return to either and empty cabin or to an angry Itachi. He often returned from his missions in a bad mood, which meant that he would sit in a corner and not talk. But on the occasion that he was in a good mood, he would actually open up and talk to her, mostly about her, but on that rare occasion he would reveal something about himself.

Hana walked in one morning, with the Haimaru Sankyodai. She looked at the desk but found that it was empty. Narrowing her eyes she glanced to the corner where he would often sit, and found him staring at a wall.

" Ohayou, Itachi!" she shouted, he looked over at her.

" Ohayou," he said softly, she smiled, this would be a good day, " you're here earlier than usual."

" I need to take these guys for a walk," Hana said, he nodded opening his book, she walked over and shut it, his eye twitched, " want to come with me?"

" No," he said simply opening his book again, she promptly shut it, he opened it and she shut it, " fine! I'll come!" He stood up and they left the cabin. Walking through the woods they were silent except for the Haimaru Sankyodai barking at one another. He looked over at her, she was quiet, this is strange, something must be wrong he thought.

" Are you okay?" he asked her, she looked over nodding, but he could see the doubt in her eyes, " liar."

" Fine," she said slowly stopping and facing him, he looked down at her, " I heard that Uchiha Shisui died, and I didn't know if you wanted to talk about it or not."

" Shisui killed himself," Itachi said softly turning away to look at the small river that ran through the woods, " it is a hard thing for our clan to accept."

" But I heard some men talking in the dango shop," Hana said softly, she was scared to ask him this but she needed to know, " they said that Shisui was killed… by you." Itachi didn't answer her; he continued to stare at the stream.

" Itachi?" she whispered, he looked over, " I'm scared, they were talking about arresting you and taking you away. And it wouldn't be the same coming to the cabin without you there, I don't want you to go away."

" Hana," he said slowly, she looked up and he saw the glint of a tear in her eye, so pushing his cold self down he walked over, and placed a finger under her chin raising it so he looked in her eyes, " I didn't kill Shisui, and they aren't taking me anywhere." She nodded, but didn't look convinced, so he pulled her into a soft embrace, one of her hands on his upper arm, the other gripping his shirt. His hands held her close to him; he stepped back and looked her in the eye.

" Promise?" Hana asked him holding out her hand, " promise you won't leave?" Itachi stared at her hand, for a long time then he turned away.

" I need to get back to the Uchiha estate," he said as he began walking, " I'll see you later, Hana." She remained watching the Uchiha fan on his back, until he was out of sight. Looking down at her hand, she sighed; he couldn't promise that he wouldn't leave.

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Its short, i know, but theres more to come. If you actually review... please review! 


	6. Goodbye

The next day things were back to normal, he would yell at her to shut up and get out, while she would annoy him to death while he tried to write his reports. This continued for many days, until late one afternoon she walked in, to see how his mission went, and he wasn't there. Realizing he must have been late on his mission she decided to wait. She waited until she knew that she would be late for dinner, so running out she reformed the genjutsu, Itachi had taught her how, and ran home. As she ran by the Uchiha estate she glanced up at tall pole, and saw someone crouched on it looking at her, but when she looked again the person was gone. Shaking her head she continued home.

It wasn't until late the next night that she heard the news. The Uchiha clan had been massacred, only one had survived, and that was Itachi's brother, Sasuke. As she listened to her mother, she could feel herself growing cold inside. Itachi… he couldn't be dead, he was the best, no way could he have been killed.

" Okaasan?" Hana asked slowly, her mother looked over, " what about Uchiha Itachi?"

" Uchiha Itachi?" her mother said, Hana looked at her, somehow she knew what her mother was going to say, but she still couldn't force herself to believe it not yet, " he's missing, no one's seen him yet. So they don't know if he's dead or alive… Hana! Where are you going, it's late!" Hana was already out the door, the Haimaru Sankyodai were still inside, and she commanded them to stay. She needed to do this alone; she needed to see him alive. Running faster than she ever had before, she reached the cabin and stood panting staring at the door. She knew that he was in there, so she opened the door, and found nothing but a dark room. But then she saw him standing by the desk he looked over.

" Itachi," Hana whispered running over to him, and throwing herself into his arms, he caught her, surprised, " I'm so glad your okay. I was worried about you."

" Hana," he whispered, looking down at the young woman, who was gripping his shirt tightly, " why did you come here?"

" Someone killed your clan," she said looking up at him, " I needed to make sure that you were okay." Itachi was silent; he realized that she didn't know that he had killed them all.

" What are you going to do about the murderer?" Hana asked him, he closed his eyes and opened them revealing his mangekyou sharingan, " what… what is that? Is that the mangekyou? But you can only get that by killing your…" Hana trailed off as the pieces fell into place, she released Itachi and stumbled backwards.

" Yes Hana, I killed Shisui," Itachi said softly, she shook her head, " I also killed my entire clan."

" No," Hana said trying to smile, like it was a joke, " you wouldn't… I can't believe you! You killed your entire clan! How could you do that!"

" It needed to be done," he replied calmly as she dropped down onto the bed.

" That's why you wouldn't promise that you wouldn't leave," Hana whispered looking up at him, " but you're Itachi! The Uchiha prodigy, the village's pride! The man I…"

" Hana," Itachi said softly, kneeling in front of her, wiping away a tear, " that person you knew, the person you care about, is merely a dream. A person I pretended to be, it was a dream, Hana, nothing more."

" I like dreaming," Hana snapped angrily, as the tears came more quickly, " I want to keep dreaming."

" Someday all dreams have to end," Itachi said sadly, " I am sorry Hana, you were the one person in the village that I liked. Thank you, for getting me to have a little fun."

" Itachi," Hana said standing, so they were face to face, " don't go, please don't go… don't leave me alone…" She trailed off staring into the mangekyou, her eyes closed as she fell into a sleep. Itachi caught her before she hit her head on the desk and lay her on the bed. Just then the Haimaru Sankyodai ran in.

" What happened?" Akira snapped at him, he looked over.

" She's fine," he replied, pulling an Uchiha jacket off a hook on the wall and laying it over her, " it's just a genjutsu, she'll dream of a happy time and will awake when I'm gone."

" Why?" Amaya asked him, he just shook his head.

" Goodbye," he said nodding to the dogs, bending down he kissed her softly on the forehead, " goodbye Hana. Take care of her for me." Itachi walked out of the cabin and started running through the woods. Hana awoke as soon as he was out of sight; she sat up quickly and looked around the cabin.

" Itachi?" she asked hopefully, but the dogs shook their heads, " he's already gone… damn him." She walked over to the desk and looked down, staring blankly at the white lily lying on top of a Konoha headband. She picked up the lily and smelled it, smiling, as it was her favorite flower. Placing it on the desk she picked up the headband, recognizing it as Itachi's, a chain was under it. Bearing the Uchiha fan, she sighed he was really gone. Removing her headband, she tossed it on the bed, and put on Itachi's. Then she fastened the chain around her neck and sat down at the desk. Holding the lily, and waiting.

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Well thats the next chapter, schools started again so it might be a while until i update. Review please! 


	7. Return

Hana opened her eyes sharply, that was four years ago, and now everything was different. Oto and Suna had just attacked the village, Sandaime had been killed, and the village was almost in ruin. The academy had been closed; all the Jounin's and Chuunin's were out on missions so that no one would think Konoha had lost all their power. Hana had also been out on missions, but she finally had a break, she had today and tomorrow off. Standing and glancing out the window, she saw the sun rising. So sitting down at the desk, she began to study some veterinarian scrolls. Unknowing that nearby, a certain Uchiha was fighting with those he had once considered friends, Yuuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma and Hatake Kakashi.

Itachi stepped forward; Kurenai and Asuma had their eyes closed to avoid looking at his sharingan. He didn't blame them, but he needed to finish off the copy ninja Kakashi, he couldn't use his sharingan properly and did not deserve it. But just as he pulled out a kunai, standing over the ninja, a fist connected with his side, sending him flying. Managing to land on his feet, he glared at the man who had hit him, Maito Gai. Appearing beside Kisame who was ready to fight, he scowled, sensing a team of ANBU getting closer; Kisame on the other hand was ready to attack.

" Kisame!" Itachi said sharply, glaring at Gai, " we're going to run, we did not come here to start a war, and regrettably this is nothing more than nonsense. Lets leave, before we have to fight a battalion of ANBU."

" Ah," Kisame said as they both vanished, appearing in the forest, Itachi glanced around searching for the Chakra of the ANBU, " Itachi, they're still coming after us, you think we can outrun them?"

" Ah, we can," Itachi said, Kisame nodded, " but just to be safe, we're going to split up, so if one gets caught the other can still get away. We'll meet at that spot, as soon as we can."

" See you there," Kisame said jumping away through the trees, as soon as Itachi could sense that he was gone, he leaned against a tree. Putting a hand to his side, he swore looking down and seeing the blood.

" Damn you Gai," Itachi muttered as he walked through the forest, " I'm not going to make it to that spot at this rate, I'm losing a lot of blood. I need to rest, recover my strength before I go." Finally he reached the place he was heading, and sensing the genjutsu was still activated, no one was in there. So he deactivated it and pushed open the cabin door, staggering inside, which was when he saw her hunched over his desk reading a scroll. She looked over sharply, but didn't move, simply stared at him like he wasn't real.

" Itachi?" Hana whispered slowly, the man standing in the doorway looked like Itachi, but it couldn't be him, " it can't be you." Hana stood walking over and looked up at his eyes, where she saw the sharingan. She stepped towards him, but he staggered slightly, and she rushed over, holding him up.

" What the hell did you do?" Hana snapped getting him over to the bed and pulling off his red cloud cloak, underneath he still wore his black Uchiha shirt, " god, this is not good, you've lost a lot of blood."

" I had a little run in with an old friend," Itachi muttered, Hana's eyes shot up to meet his, he closed his eyes, and opened them revealing his icy black eyes, " Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi and Gai, gave me a little welcome back to Konoha party."

" Kurenai and the others?" Hana said slowly as she examined his wound, she remembered when Itachi and Kurenai would spend a lot of time together, she had always thought that they were a couple but never had the courage to ask him, " and this is the only wound you received?"

" Ah, but I left them with some," Itachi replied gritting his teeth as she cleaned the wound and wrapped bandages around him, " Kakashi won't be himself for a while and Kurenai will be very pissed off, so avoid her."

" What did you do to her?" Hana asked as she lowered his shirt, looking up she saw the ghost of a rueful grin on his face.

" I countered her favorite genjutsu attack," he replied, closing his eyes and resting his head on the pillow, " she'll be trying to find a new jutsu to outdo me for weeks."

" Good grief," Hana said, still sitting on the edge of the bed, " why did you come back? How long have you been here? Are you back forever?"

" Slow down," Itachi said opening his eyes, and pushing himself into a sitting position, leaning against the desk, " I've only been here for a couple of days. I'm here on business from Akatsuki, the organization I belong to. I'm not telling you what that business is. And no, Hana, I'm not back forever."

" You've been here for two days," Hana said slowly, Itachi watched her, he had a bad feeling about this, " and you didn't come to see me!?" Her eyes bore into his, and he was sure if she hadn't just bandaged him up, she would have hit him.

" I came by," he said quickly, " you weren't here. And like I'm going to just walk up to the Inuzuka compound and ask if Hana can come out and play."

" Jerk," she said standing and going back to the desk, " you shouldn't of come back. I didn't want to see you anyways, I never missed you once."

" Ah, I can see that," he standing behind her, she stared intently at the scroll but she couldn't actually read it with him behind her, " I see that's my old headband your wearing." Hana froze, she had completely forgotten. Standing she pushed him away and walked to the door, but he appeared in front of her. Right in front of her, she walked right into his chest; he was still taller than her. Stepping back she felt his arms catch hers, and looking up into his eyes, she saw the old Itachi again. The Itachi that he had said was a dream, for a moment, just a moment, Hana felt like everything was okay again, like he hadn't left. Itachi saw this and leaning forward he captured her lips in a kiss, feeling her shock he bit her lower lips making her gasp in pain, using that to let his tongue dart into her mouth. His hands pulled her against him as she raised her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his midnight hair, she moaned in pleasure as his tongue explored her mouth. After what seemed like days, he broke the kiss, leaving her leaning against him. If he hadn't of been holding her, she was sure that she would have collapsed. Looking up into his eyes, she suddenly saw sadness forming in them. Feeling his arms leave her, he stepped back, she just stood there staring at him.

" Hana," he said slowly, she could detect the hint of sadness in his voice, " I… I shouldn't have done that… I'm sorry."

" What do you mean?" Hana said stepping towards him angrily shoving him in the chest making him hit the door, " we both liked that, and you know it. Why do you deny everything?"

" I didn't mean I didn't like it," he said, equally as angry, " I meant that I have to leave, tonight."

" What…?" Hana said slowly, he nodded, " but we just… you have to leave now?"

" I need to go meet someone," he said slowly, Hana scowled at him and turned away walking to the desk.

" Go," she snarled at him, he closed his eyes, " it'll be like nothings changed, like you never came back. Like you never were, like you never are, like you don't exist. Just the way you want it."

" Hana," Itachi said softly, appearing behind her with his arms around her, she gasped as he held her against him, " I wanted to do this, before I left, before it was too late. But I couldn't. You and I are not meant to be; you will find happiness with a man in Konoha. And I'm in the way." He released her, grabbing his cloak and putting it on, she turned to watch him as he walked towards the door.

" Hana," opening the door and stepping out, he glanced back at her, " I won't be in the way anymore, we won't meet again."

" Why are you saying this!" Hana shouted at him, he just stared at her, " you always do this, you could never see the way I feel! I love you damnit! Why can't you accept that!"

" Hana," he said slowly, but she walked over and hit him, he barely moved but it surprised him, " I can't be seen in Konoha, you can't be seen with me, or else you will be tried for treason. I'm a missing Nin, an S ranked criminal. You know how the world works, and this would never work. I won't be returning to Konoha, and you should settle down, get married and be happy. Don't dwell on the past, it ruins the future, look at Sasuke."

" Itachi," she said but before she could finish, he pressed his lips to hers.

" Hana, I will promise you this," he whispered against her lips, " I will never forget you, but I'll be gone soon, so move on. I might as well be dead; you can't dwell in the past. Goodbye." His lips met hers again, just for a moment, and then he was gone like a ghost. She opened her eyes and saw him disappearing in the trees. Racing out of the cabin she scowled and let out a burst of murderous Chakra.

" DAMN YOU ITACHI!" she shouted at him, knowing that he heard her " YOU JERK! YOU'D BETTER COME BACK!"

Itachi smiled as he heard her shouting at him, until he noticed someone standing in his path. Letting out a rueful grin he stopped and stared at Kurenai. She was standing in his path with her arms crossed over her chest.

" Come to be beaten again?" he asked stepping up beside her, she didn't move to stop him, " or did you want to say something else?"

" Leaving already?" came the deathly icy voice, Itachi looked over, " you didn't say goodbye last time, and your going to try it again?"

" I looked for you," he said calmly.

" You would rather say goodbye to her," Kurenai said slowly, " than me? The one whose heart you ripped to shreds when you took off after pulling that stunt?"

" I really do need to go," Itachi said stepping away, but she was in front of him again, and her lips were planted on his, after a moment they broke apart, " what's this all about?"

" That's your goodbye kiss from last time," Kurenai replied, pulling his head down and kissing him again, " that's for this time. Don't you be dying on me now." They stepped apart from each other and vanished. Itachi could still hear Hana shouting at him to come back.

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Please Review! 


	8. Engagement

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He never did though, and before Hana knew it another four years had passed, and her mother was getting impatient. In the Inuzuka clan, the heir to the clan was supposed to marry young, so the line would not diminish. So Hana, as the heir, should have married at eighteen, but she couldn't, somehow every guy that her mother set her up with made her feel worse. Also every time that they tried to track Itachi, they could never find him, it was almost like he was dead. But Hana wouldn't accept that, Itachi couldn't be dead, he wouldn't dare die on her.

" Hana!" Tsume's sharp voice awoke her from her daydreams, " come on, we're going into town."

" Hai," Hana sighed, she knew that this day would be coming; her mother was so set on her marrying a strong shinobi. A strong, respectable shinobi, one that could help her lead the clan, someone trustworthy. She wouldn't hear of Uchiha Itachi, so Hana had never tried. The Haimaru Sankyodai were the only ones that Hana could talk to about Itachi, as they were the only ones who knew about them. Eyeing her mothers back as they walked into town, she wondered which place they were going. Her jaw dropped as they stopped, they were standing in front of the best beauty salon in all of Konoha.

" Okaasan! What's going on?" Hana exclaimed as Tsume dragged her in and set her in a chair, " why are you making me do this."

" Because you're meeting your fiancée in two hours," Tsume replied, Hana's jaw dropped even further, " oh by the way, I've arranged for you to be married."

" NANI!" screamed Hana, the beauty salon people shushed her as they began to work on her, " okaasan how could you! I can find my own man! Who is it?"

" Ebisu-san," replied Tsume glancing through a magazine, ignoring her daughters screams and shouts, " enough, you do not have a choice in this matter, if you had wed long ago, I would have allowed you to choose. But since you chose to daydream about the Uchiha traitor, I have chosen your husband. Don't look at me like that, I knew about your infatuation with the Uchiha all along, but he is not coming back. So give it up and accept that you will be Ebisu's wife, within the next two month's."

" But… but," Hana spluttered trying to find a way to argue, but Tsume was ignoring her, so she attempted to argue but the salon people were keeping her quiet. And an hour later, she was finished, and she was pissed off. They had dressed her formally, done her hair, and put make-up on her. Tsume pulled her out and they began walking down the streets, where she received constant whistles and stares from the men. Suddenly they came upon Kurenai and Tsunade, who were talking, and then they looked over, and dropped their jaws.

" Wow, Hana-san?" Kurenai said slowly, looking her over, " I barely recognize you, you look nice."

" Thank you Kurenai-san," replied Hana, blushing furiously as a group of Chuunin's walked by staring at her, " hello Tsunade-sama."

" Hello," Tsunade replied waving someone over, " over here! I believe you all know the traitorous bastard Uchiha Itachi?" Hana felt everything slow down, she grew cold inside, Itachi was here, and he was going to see her like this! Kurenai glanced over as the young man, strolled over.

" I missed you too Tsunade," he said calmly, as Kurenai smiled slightly, he glanced as Tsume and Hana, " ohayou, Tsume-san, how are you?"

" I'm well," Tsume said glaring at him, " what are you doing here?"

" Tsunade recruited me," replied Itachi, Hana stared at him, he was ignoring her, " I'm going to be training Konoha's shinobi army. Orochimaru is strong, and he has the sharingan, so we must expect a strong battle."

" How can we trust him?" Tsume asked Tsunade.

" I trust him with my life," replied Tsunade calmly, Tsume and Hana both looked at her like she was nuts, " is that not enough for you?"

" No it is," replied Tsume, Hana stared at Itachi who still hadn't given her a second glance and was walking away.

" Itachi-kun," Kurenai said walking over and putting a hand on his arm, " I believe you know Hana-san." He stopped in his tracks, Hana blushed again as he turned slowly to look at her again. Tsume and Tsunade had stepped away to talk; he walked right up to her and stared her in the eye.

" No way," he said simply, Kurenai smiled evilly, Hana glared at her, she seemed to have a huge grudge against her, " Hana is a kunoichi, and not a boy crazed idiot."

" She's trying to impress her fiancée," said Kurenai, Hana's eyes shot up to meet Itachi's but she saw nothing just the black eyes, " she is engaged to marry, Ebisu."

" Excuse me?" Itachi said slowly, his eye twitched, " Ebisu… that closet pervert?"

" That's the one," replied Kurenai, Itachi closed his eyes and opened them revealing his sharingan. He stared at Hana intently and she noticed his eyes narrow when he confirmed that it was her.

" Well congratulations, Hana-san," Itachi said calmly turning away, Hana watched him go, " I'm sure you'll be very happy." He walked by Kurenai who fell into stride beside him.

" Welcome back Itachi," Hana said softly, he raised a hand before disappearing with Kurenai.

" Hana! Let's go!" Tsume said and they continued walking to meet Ebisu, " Hana, I never want to see you with Uchiha Itachi, understood?"

" Why?" asked Hana, Tsume's look was enough for her, " fine okaasan, I will never see him again." Tsume smiled, and continued walking, Hana followed but her mind was elsewhere.

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Finally an update! Sorry it took so long, I thought I had it updated for like 3 more chapters. So basically I've got three chapters coming soon. But first I need reviews! 


	9. Jerk

After the first meeting between Ebisu and Hana, she wanted to hurt him. Hana couldn't stand that bastard, but she could do nothing to stop this. So after cleaning all the make-up off her face and putting on her regular clothes, she went to the one place that she could think. Now that he was back she expected to see Itachi there, he could help her get out of this, maybe he could kill Ebisu. When she arrived at the cabin, it was empty, so she went for a walk along the river. She wasn't ready for what she saw. Itachi and Kurenai were standing in the same place that Hana and Itachi had once stood. And they were kissing, Hana felt herself growing cold, she wanted to run out and attack Kurenai with everything she had. But Kurenai was stronger, and what would she say, I love Itachi so back off? She was engaged and Itachi knew that, she just didn't want to accept that they would never be. So she turned and ran, meanwhile Itachi and Kurenai had broken apart, both staring at each other in shock.

" Kurenai, that was a surprise," he said slowly, she sighed nodding her agreement it was completely the location that had them lean in, " I'm not ready for a… Hana!" Itachi went flying after her, leaving Kurenai standing there rolling her eyes.

" Hana! Wait!" he shouted, she ignored him but he was faster, he caught her arm and stopped her, she bit him and he grimaced in pain, " okay. Hitting I can accept even kicking, but no biting! Deal?"

" Fine! Jerk!" Hana shouted throwing punches into his chest, they didn't even faze him but she wasn't trying to hurt him, she was trying to take his focus off the fact that tears were streaming down her face, " I hate you! Just leave me alone!"

" Hana," Itachi said softly, catching her arms, he raised her head and brushed away a tear with the back of his hand, " I'm sorry. Kurenai and I were a thing, before I left. She kissed me and I ended it, besides, your getting married."

" It's an arranged marriage," Hana said softly, his hand was still on her cheek, " my mother set it up. I don't want to marry that bastard."

" Hana, I can't change this," Itachi whispered leaning his head in to brush her lips, her eyes closed as she moved against him, " if I could change this I would. But your mother hates me, and it has already been arranged. And what we're doing right now is wrong." He moved away, Hana remained where she was.

" I'm sorry I was too late," he whispered forming hand seals, she rushed forward, " I'm in the way again." He vanished in a puff of smoke, and she ran right through where he was.

" Damn, you jerk," Hana whispered, Itachi was leaning against a tree nearby but she couldn't see or sense him, " why do I love such a jerk!"

Hana hadn't seen him in weeks, obviously he was avoiding her and it was pissing her off, the wedding was in a few days and she didn't want it to happen.

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Please Read and Review! 


	10. Pain

As she walked through town, everyone avoided her; she was letting off a murderous Chakra that no one wanted to be near. Itachi however, completely ignored it and walked right up to her.

" What do you want?" she snapped angrily, trying to go around him but he kept getting in the way, " move damn it!"

" Tsunade wants to see you," he said simply, she looked up at him, " Orochimaru is on the way." Hana opened her mouth to say something but suddenly four other black ops, appeared behind him.

" Itachi," came the voice of a black haired woman who Hana recognized as Kurenai, he glanced back, " are you ready?"

" Ah," he said placing the familiar wolf mask over his face, Hana looked at him, it was the old Itachi again, " let's go." The four behind him vanished, but Hana had grabbed his shirt, he glanced down. Before he could stop her, she had pushed his mask up and pressed her lips to his. He didn't have time to react before she released him and pushed him away.

" Be careful," was all that she said before he vanished, and then she continued on to the Hokage's building. Itachi was jumping through the trees, he ran his fingers over his lips, he could still feel her lips. He finally caught up to Kurenai and the others, no one spoke, they all knew what was coming. Nodding to the other two, they vanished so they could surround the enemy; Itachi and Kurenai were left alone. Itachi realized that the sun would be setting soon, so they stopped and made a little camp.

" I'll take the first watch," Itachi said as they sat beside each other, leaning against a big tree, " you can rest."

" All right, but wake me up when you get tired," Kurenai said, he nodded and she closed her eyes, quickly falling into sleep. Itachi remained vigilant, watching for any signs of movement, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when Kurenai's head fell onto his shoulder. Looking down he smiled, she looked so peaceful, even as they were about to go and ambush Orochimaru. It had been many years, but he still remembered how it felt with her. He still remembered when they had first gotten together.

_The mission had failed; it was his first failed mission, ever. Two of his teammates had been wounded; barely escaping with their lives Itachi had never felt this. He and Kakashi carried them into the village; he could see the shock on their faces. They had assumed the team to have been annihilated; the medic Nin's took the wounded men. Itachi glanced down at his hands they were covered in blood. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder, Itachi nodded as Kakashi vanished. He began walking through the village, it was late and most people were indoors, so the streets were deserted. Suddenly he heard footsteps and then someone skidding to a halt. Looking up he saw Kurenai standing a few feet away; she was breathing heavily and looked as though she'd been crying. Neither of them moved Itachi realized that she had thought that they were all dead. She suddenly started running down the street towards him, and as a feeling overcame him he moved towards her. He caught her as she flung herself into his arms, holding her close to him; he never wanted to let her go. He could feel her hitting his back, muttering threats into his neck, but he could also feel her tears on his neck. The rain began to fall, as she pulled back slightly to look into his eyes, he smiled slightly as he captured her lips with his. Almost like a reflex she responded as the rain poured down around them. Neither of them noticed or cared, both lost in their own world._

Sighing Itachi felt the urge to kiss her again, but in his mind Hana pushed her way through. Suddenly he grasped his chest breathing heavily, Kurenai immediately woke up staring at him.

" Itachi what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

" I don't know," he replied, as his breathing returned to normal, " I just had this pain right here." He pointed to his chest and Kurenai put her hand over it.

" That's where your heart is," she said softly, his eyes softened, " have you ever had that before?"

" Um… once," he replied, Kurenai raised an eyebrow, " it was around the time that Sasuke ran off to Orochimaru."

" So maybe it happens when someone you care about does something dangerous," Kurenai said slowly, Itachi shook his head.

" This one is worse than last time," he muttered glancing back to the village, " I wonder…"

Wow it's been a really long time since I last updated! Sorry! I've been pretty busy and I've had some serious writers block, but I should be updating some of my fics soon! Please review!


	11. Why

" Tsunade-sama," Hana said bowing slightly, " you have a mission for me?"

" Yes," Tsunade replied her eyes narrowed, " I need you to go and back-up Asuma's team. They are fighting a couple of Akatsuki members. Take Ino, Chouji and Kiba with you."

" Roger," Hana said vanishing.

Minutes later they were jumping through the trees heading towards Asuma and his team. Unknowingly that several miles away on the other side of the village, Itachi had just grasped his chest in pain. When they finally reached Asuma and his team they were shocked at what they found. Asuma was kneeling on the ground, while some weird looking guy shouted at him from inside a circle. Shikamaru was on the ground while the other guy's hands were choking Izumo and Kotetsu.

" Finally I can taste the pain!" yelled Hidan laughing at Asuma, " the pain that will kill you!"

" Stop!" Shikamaru screamed running towards him and Asuma. Ignoring him Hidan reached out with his weapon and pulled it towards his body. Hana, Ino, Chouji and Kiba were all running towards them when she heard it hit his body. Everyone froze; Asuma was silent staring straight ahead.

" Baka Asuma," came the familiar annoyed voice, Hana raised her head, " your just lucky we made it in time." Uchiha Itachi was standing in front of Hidan, with the scythe piercing his body. Kurenai was beside Shikamaru holding Hidan in genjutsu.

" Itachi…" Asuma whispered, as Itachi choked out blood, " why…" Kiba and Chouji ran foreword as Itachi shoved Hidan out of his circle. Kurenai ran foreword to catch him as he fell backwards. Kiba and Chouji were attacking Hidan when the black crows surrounded them. Hana glanced over at Kurenai, Itachi was in her arms, and her hands were forming seals.

" Take Itachi-sensei and Asuma-sensei somewhere safe!" Raidou shouted as they attacked Kakuzu and Hidan, " get them out of here!"

" Right!" Kurenai said, putting one of Itachi's arms over her shoulder, " Hana! Help Shikamaru with Asuma!"

" Got him!" Hana said grabbing one of Asuma's arms, they jumped into the trees and got as far as they could before they had to stop, " Shikamaru go and get Tsunade-sama, tell her to hurry!" Hana was looking at the wounds on Itachi, swearing she leaned Asuma against a tree. Kurenai laid Itachi out on the ground as she and Hana examined him.

" Itachi," Asuma muttered, staring at him, " why the hell did you do that!?"

" Because," Itachi whispered as his eyes started to close, " you are my closest friend…"

" Itachi!" Hana shouted as he shut his eyes, " Itachi open your eyes!"

This is a really short update, I'll probably update again a bit later. But this is it for now! Please review!


	12. Memories

So here's another update… I didn't get many reviews last time… keep them coming!

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" What the hell are you talking about!" a young Itachi scowled angrily, " we don't want a new team member!"

" Yeah Itachi-kun's right!" a young Kurenai snapped, Sandaime sighed.

" You need to be a three man team," he replied again, but Itachi's glare only got worse.

" We are a three man team!" Itachi shouted angrily.

" Kaiza is dead," Sandaime, said sharply, Itachi and Kurenai both fell silent, " death is a constant part of shinobi life. You need to deal with it."

" Shut up!" Itachi whispered, his hands shaking, " Kaiza is not dead! We never found his body!"

" Kaiza is smart!" Kurenai said angrily, " he could of gotten away!"

" You two need to stop living in the past," Sandaime sighed staring up at Hokage Mountain, " Kaiza was killed on the last mission. You need to face it. He is not coming back. You will be receiving a new member for team 10."

" No!" Kurenai said angrily, Itachi scowled.

" You can't just replace Kaiza!" Itachi shouted, " he's our best friend! And we're going to find him!"

" I'm not replacing Kaiza," Sandaime replied calmly, " but you will be getting a new team member tomorrow morning. So be prepared."

" I will never accept anyone but Kaiza," Itachi muttered turning and walking away.

" Neither will I," Kurenai scowled as she walked away with Itachi.

" What are we going to do, Itachi-kun?" Kurenai sighed, they were sitting on top of Hokage Mountain in the dark.

" I don't know," he muttered staring miserably at the stars above, dropping his voice to a whisper he sighed, " Kaiza…"

" _There's too many of them!" Itachi shouted deflecting kunai knives for Kurenai while she performed genjutsu, " we're completely outnumbered!"_

" _We need to escape!" Kaiza said jumping over to where they were standing, " we'll use kage bunshin."_

" _Okay," Itachi said, " one, two three!" Summoning clones, the three friends raced into the woods._

" _I think we lost them," Kurenai said softly, as they rested on a branch briefly._

" _No!" Itachi shouted tackling Kurenai off the branch, as Kaiza jumped off right before it exploded into flames, " damn it!"_

" _Itachi run!" Kaiza said, Itachi nodded and he grabbed Kurenai's hand running towards the village, " just keep running!"_

" _Right! Let's go!" he and Kurenai leaped into the branch's, but after a while they noticed that Kaiza wasn't following, " Kaiza? Kaiza!" Quickly running back they found four dead enemies and a lot of blood near the fast flowing river. Itachi and Kurenai ran around searching for Kaiza, but all they found was his headband._

" _What happened?" the ANBU had arrived, " is everyone alright?"_

" _No! Kaiza is missing!" Kurenai said hurriedly, " we have to find him!"_

" _Go back to the village!" the man said, " we'll find your friend."_

" _But," Itachi said slowly. _

_" __Just go," he replied, " there could be more of them."_

_" Itachi. Kurenai," Sandaime said sadly, " we found a lot of blood that matches Kaiza. But we didn't find his body. I'm sorry, he must of fallen into the river and been swept out to sea. I know how hard this is."_

_" Kaiza can't be dead," Itachi muttered, staring at the ground, beside him tears were falling down Kurenai's face, " he was there one minute and then he was gone… but he can't really be gone…" Squeezing his eyes shut, he forced the tears back._

_" You two should take some time off," Sandaime said softly, " to grieve for Kaiza."_

" I don't know how to exist in a world where Kaiza isn't," Itachi said softly, he and Kurenai were standing in front of the memorial.

" I keep waiting for him to come running up," Kurenai whispered, " spouting some nonsense about being late."

" He can't really be dead," Itachi muttered, " right?"

" He's too strong to die," Kurenai sighed, " I bet he's out there somewhere, and he'll come back."

" But… if he doesn't," Itachi whispered, noticing the tears on Kurenai's face, " I'm going to become strong. Stronger than anyone! So I can protect everyone I care about. I never want to see an important friend die in front of me again." Itachi's eyes were shut but the tears were falling anyways.

" We get that new member tomorrow," Kurenai choked out as she wiped away her tears, Itachi nodded, " we can't accept him."

" Accepting him is like accepting that Kaiza is really gone," Itachi whispered wiping the tears away, " he's just some kid filling in until Kaiza comes back."

" Right," Kurenai forced a smile, Itachi grinned, " want to get some dango?"

" Yeah," Itachi said as they walked away from the memorial.

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" This is your new team member," Sandaime smiled the next morning, " Sarutobi Asuma."

" Good morning," Asuma said shyly, Itachi scowled while Kurenai gave a curt nod.

" I'm sure you three will be getting along in no time," Sandaime smiled while handing them their mission, " good luck!"

" Let's go," Itachi said heading towards the gates.

" So how long have you been on a team together?" Asuma said hurrying to keep up with Kurenai and Itachi, " I only graduated from the academy a couple month's ago."

" Okay the whole talking thing," Itachi said sharply, " we're not interested."

" But we're comrades, teammates," Asuma said grinning.

" No," Kurenai replied, " Itachi and I are teammates, you're a temporary fix until Kaiza comes back."

" But Kaiza is dead," Asuma said slowly, Itachi spun around and pinned him against a tree.

" If you ever say that again I will hurt you," Asuma was visibly frightened of the blood red sharingan eyes that were piercing his own, " you're a genin. You will stay back and stay out of our way." Itachi released him and turned away walking with Kurenai.

For the month's that followed Asuma did as Itachi said he remained back and out of their way. Until that one mission, he got fed up and jumped in.

" Asuma! What the hell are you doing!" Itachi screamed at him, while dodging kunai's.

" Watch out!" Kurenai shouted, as a barrage of kunai knives went flying at Asuma, who had frozen in fear. He felt an arm grabbed him and pull him out of the way. 

" Baka!" Itachi said angrily, " I told you to stay back for a reason!"

" Itachi… you're hurt," Asuma said slowly, staring at the blood that was running down Itachi's arm.

" I'm fine," he scowled, " now stay behind this tree."

* * *

" I'm sorry about the other day Itachi," Asuma said softly, the two boys were waiting for Kurenai, " I didn't mean to get you hurt."

" It's fine," Itachi said, " forget it."

" Morning Itachi-kun," Kurenai smiled appearing next to them, " let's go!"

" Watch your left Kurenai!" Itachi shouted.

" There's too many of them!" Kurenai replied as she dodged another kunai, " Itachi watch out!" Itachi spun around only to find a shinobi about to stick a sword in him. But suddenly Asuma appeared in front of him, and stabbed the enemy with his chakra blades.

" Asuma," Itachi said shocked Kurenai appeared beside them.

" That's all of them," she said helping Itachi up, " let's go home."

" Sorry Itachi," Asuma said softly, Itachi raised an eyebrow, " I didn't mean to get in your way."

" No Asuma," Itachi clasp his shoulder briefly, and grinned at him, " good work!"

" Thank you Itachi!" Asuma grinned at him, they all walked away together.

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Well as you could probably tell, that was in the past… okay so lots of reviews!


	13. Tears

So since I was asked about their age in the last chapter… I'd say maybe 11 or 12. Itachi hadn't turned evil yet, as you can see.

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" It's not good," Tsunade, sighed, staring down at the unmoving form of Itachi, " he has several wounds, and I don't know if he'll make it through this. I've done all I can. It's up to him now." Kurenai, Hana and Asuma were left in the room as Tsunade shut the door.

" Stupid Itachi," Asuma muttered, " you shouldn't have done that."

" You'd better wake up," Kurenai muttered as she walked out of the room, Asuma followed moments later, leaving Hana alone with Itachi.

" Itachi," she whispered sitting in a chair by the bed, " please wake up Itachi. You have to wake up."

The next morning Itachi still hadn't woken up and Hana had to leave on a mission. Standing from her chair she stared down at the battered Uchiha.

" You'd better be alive when I get back," she whispered softly, leaning over him kissing his cheek, " you can't die." Walking to the door, she glanced back at Itachi again before leaving.

* * *

" You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" Hana asked as she walked into Tsunade's office after her mission.

" Yes I did," Tsunade sighed, turning away from the rain soaked window, " it's about Itachi."

" Did he wake up?" Hana asked hurriedly.

" No I'm sorry he didn't," Tsunade said sadly, Hana felt like ice was slipping down her back, " Itachi died earlier today Hana. The wounds were just too extensive. There was nothing we could do. I know how close you were, I'm so sorry." Slowly Hana sank to her knees, as tears fell down her face. She was aware of Shizune and Tsunade trying to comfort her but she didn't care. Standing she turned and walked out of the Hokage's building. Stepping out into the rain she began walking, unaware of anything around her. She had no destination she just kept walking. She ended up in the middle of the village, people were running for cover from the rain, children were jumping in puddles. No one cared; no one even knew that he was dead. She was the only one here, the only one who would never be the same. Itachi was dead and Hana was alone. She'd never hear him yell at her again, never see his smile, never run her hands through his hair, never feel his lips on hers. Stepping into the middle of the street, she threw her head back, staring into the rain filled grey sky.

" Itachi," she whispered, tears falling down her face, " what am I supposed to do! Itachi!" 

" Hana," Kurenai sighed sadly, she was sitting on a roof watching Hana cry, " Itachi you idiot."

* * *

Okay this is a very short update, but the next one will be longer. I'm expecting lots of reviews!


	14. Asuma

Okay so this is the last chapter until I get some reviews… yes I am going on strike! P

* * *

" I never would of picked you to be the kind of person to do that," Asuma whispered miserably, he was staring at the memorial where Itachi's name was now engraved, " I didn't think you liked me at all really. When I first joined your team… I knew who you were. Both you and Kurenai were famous in the village, along with Kaiza. You were the best, the best of the best. Then I joined… all I did was get in the way. You made me who I am. You made me strong, because all I wanted was your acknowledgment. When I got it… that was the day before you killed Shisui wasn't it. But then… we were friends… the three of us were friends. I was so happy to have friends. Then you left. You massacred your clan, and destroyed our bond. What the hell Itachi!"

" _Itachi! Stop!" Asuma yelled, Itachi sighed as he stopped, " what are you doing!"_

" _I'm leaving this village," Itachi replied calmly._

" _Why?" Asuma yelled angrily, " we've been teammates for years! Think about what your doing!"_

" _You've always been a simple minded person Asuma," Itachi sneered, " look at you, letting your emotions get the better of you. I don't have a choice!"_

" _There's always a choice!" Asuma replied, Itachi scowled and turned away, " what about Kurenai? How could you do this to her?"_

" _Goodbye Asuma," Itachi sighed, jumping onto a branch, " the next time we meet… we'll be enemies."_

" _Itachi!" Asuma yelled again, but he was gone, " damn you."_

" _Asuma" Itachi's voice seemed to be carried by the wind, Asuma spun around searching for him, " take care of Kurenai."_

* * *

" You were right," Asuma muttered, " four years passed and then you showed up. Four years of no contact, no word of your existence. Then you just show up."

" _It's not Itachi," Asuma repeated, as he and Kurenai jumped through the trees, " he wouldn't come back."_

" _I know," Kurenai scowled, " but I've got a bad feeling about this."_

" _There they are," Asuma said as they appeared in front of the strangers._

" _It's been a while," pulling his hat up to reveal his sharingan, " Asuma-kun, Kurenai-chan."_

" _You!" Asuma yelled in shock, Kurenai didn't move, " Uchiha Itachi."_

" _Hello," Itachi said calmly, tossing the hat to the ground and unbuttoning his jacket, " I didn't expect a welcoming party."_

" _So you already know each other," Kisame grinned pulling off his hat, " I should introduce myself too then. Hoshigaki Kisame._

" _I guess we were bound to meet one day," Asuma scowled staring at Itachi, " you've become an S class criminal. Now it's time to finish what we started four years ago!"_

" _Asuma, Kurenai," Itachi sighed, raising his head the sharingan pierced them, " please do not interfere in my affairs. It will only lead to your death."_

" _Tch, what is your purpose here Itachi?" Asuma growled, ignoring his comment. Itachi glanced at Kisame, whose hand gripped the massive sword on his back._

" _This person," Kisame scowled, as his sword hit the ground in front of Asuma, " he sure is annoying hey? Does he want to die?"_

" _Apparently," Itachi scowled, Asuma glared at him, " just do as I say and make sure they don't make it back to the village. But don't do too much. Your work is a little destructive."_

" _It's been decided then," Kisame grinned as he lunged towards Kurenai. Asuma appeared in front of her, blocking the giant sword with his chakra blades. Kurenai began forming rapid hand seals, and disappeared like the wind._

" _This is," Itachi smirked, watching with his sharingan, " genjutsu."_

" _My sword Samehada," Kisame grinned as Asuma's arm began bleeding, Itachi glanced over briefly, " doesn't cut. It shaves!" Samehada managed to hit Asuma's arm, jumping back he scowled gripping his arm._

" _Kurenai," Asuma grinned, Itachi sighed as the genjutsu began to surround him, " you're late." Itachi didn't move as he found himself in the grip of a tree. Kurenai was above him with a kunai._

" _This is the end," she whispered bringing the kunai down towards his head._

" _Genjutsu at that level has no effect on me," Itachi sighed, Kurenai was now bound by the tree, " I would of thought you knew that." Smirking he threw a punch at her, that she dodged, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the kick that sent her flying over the water._

" _Kurenai!" Asuma yelled, glancing over._

" _You don't have time to look away," Kisame scowled as he swung his sword at him._

" _You've gotten stronger," Itachi whispered, Kurenai tensed up glancing back at him, he was right behind her, " as expected. But you can't beat me Kurenai."_

" _Why did you come back?" she whispered, spinning around to face him, " you bastard!"_

" _Kurenai," he smiled as she threw punch after punch at him, " enough." Catching both her arms, he pinned them at her side. She scowled, he was right in front of her, a breath away._

" _You need to run," he whispered, as his eyes darted to Asuma and Kisame, " Kisame will kill Asuma and I don't want to have to hurt you." His eyes flickered back to meet hers. Kurenai gasped, the sharingan was gone, and her Itachi was there instead._

" _Itachi," she whispered, he grinned, " I missed you."_

" _Kurenai," he whispered, " I… damn!" Glancing down they noticed a sword in his chest. Kurenai gaped as he dissolved into water._

* * *

" _This has gotten too big," Itachi scowled darkly, Kisame nodded, " we didn't come here to start a war and regrettably, this is just nonsense." He scowled at the four Jounin who stood before them. Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi and Gai were a formidable force when combined._

" _Let's go!" Kisame said as he vanished, Itachi turned to leave when he felt Asuma tackle him._

" _Where do you think you're going!" Asuma grinned as he pinned Itachi to the ground, Itachi just stared at him, " I'm not going to let you leave this time."_

" _Pathetic," Itachi sighed as the water clone dissolved in Asuma's arms, " you're nowhere near my league."_

" _Damn it Itachi," Asuma scowled, he could feel the cold of the kunai on his neck, " just do it then."_

" _Asuma," Itachi whispered, Asuma scowled, waiting for death, " thank you for taking care of Kurenai." His eyes shot open, and he spun around but Itachi was gone._

" I never thought you would sacrifice your life," Asuma muttered, ignoring the silent tears on his face, " especially for me. I never knew you thought of me as your closest friend either. For me… you were the big brother I never had. I looked up to you and I worked hard to be like you. I know that it's an honor to die in battle… but I can't just accept this… I can't accept you dying so easily! You were so strong I thought you were undefeatable. Then you die like this? How am I supposed to keep going now? My best friend died to save my life. How am I supposed to live Itachi?"

* * *

So I'm expecting lots of reviews!


	15. Kurenai

Okay well heres another update... pretty short but I'm going in order here. Time to review here!

* * *

" Ever since we were young, we were best friends," Kurenai smiled sadly at the memorial, it was pitch black out and the stars were overhead, " it was always like that, we did everything together. We graduated from the academy together, we were in a team together, we lost Kaiza together. But you and I weren't meant to be together. I know that and you knew that. We were too good as friends, going beyond that… you knew we had to stay friends. I know it now too. But still Itachi… I love you… I love you so much. You're my best friend and I can't do this alone. I don't know how to exist in a world where you aren't in it."

" _Tsunade-sama," Kurenai said as she walked into her office, " you wanted to see me?"_

" _Yes," Tsunade smiled, gesturing to the window, " I believe you two were teammates once?"_

" _Hey," Itachi raised a hand, Kurenai's jaw dropped, " long time."_

" _BAKA!" she shouted bashing him on the head, he raised an eyebrow, " you just walk in here and get yourself caught!"_

" _He's an ANBU captain," Tsunade replied, Kurenai just stared, " you'll have to trust my judgment here Kurenai. But he is not a threat to the village. I would like the two of you to be a team again."_

" _I can't believe you got her to trust you," Kurenai sighed as they walked down the street, Itachi just grinned, " you seem different."_

" _How so?" he asked, Kurenai grinned putting her arm around his neck._

" _You're happy," she laughed messing up his hair, he smirked putting his arm around her shoulder, and messing up her hair, " hey! It takes me longer to get it like this!"_

" _Too bad!" Itachi laughed dodging the punch, " you'll never catch me!"_

" _Caught you!" Kurenai grinned, Itachi snorted._

" _I let you catch me," he replied, " notice I'm not moving."_

" _Whatever," Kurenai grinned, Itachi smirked, " so this is a nice place."  
_

" _Yeah," Itachi grinned, Kurenai sighed, " what?"_

" _There's just something I need to do," Kurenai said pressing her lips to his softly, not knowing that Hana was nearby, she broke the kiss noticing the confused expression on his face, " just to prove that we're better off as friends."_

" _Kurenai, we are better as friends," Itachi said, then he noticed Hana, " damn it Hana wait!"_

" I miss you," Kurenai sobbed dropping to her knees, " I don't know what to do. What should I do! You always knew what to do! When Kaiza died, I wouldn't have made if you hadn't been so strong. I know how much you miss him, he was your best friend! That was when you started to become obsessed with power. Power isn't everything, friends and the people who love you are! I don't know how to exist without you… and my life's never going to be the same. What about Hana! She really loves you, how could you leave her! Even though you didn't do it on purpose… and even though it's wrong… in my heart, a part wishes you were still here… that we hadn't reached them in time. I hate that I feel that, but you're really gone now. I can't deal with this Itachi! I can't deal with you being gone!

* * *

Well theres another update! Reviews better be coming in fast P

* * *


	16. Hana

Okay so here's another update. This is mostly just flashbacks I guess... but whatever.

* * *

" I can't believe this," Hana whispered, staring desolately at the memorial, " you weren't supposed to die. I told you not to die! Why did you have to die? You're the only one who could have stopped the wedding. I can't stop it now, I'm stuck with that bastard Ebisu. Even knowing that… I don't care. I'd deal with that for centuries, if I could have just one more day with you… just one more day in that cabin. Just one more day to tell you how I really feel." Dropping to her knees, she sobbed one hand brushing his name carved into stone. As everything that they had been through together hit her.

* * *

_As they passed each other, his eyes flickered open and he glanced at her. His eyes meeting hers, she stared right back at him, until his eyes flickered forward again. She continued walking as though nothing had happened, but his eyes, those dark black eyes, had been so cold, so empty full of loneliness that she felt sad for him. _

_After that initial ' meeting,' if you could even call it a meeting, she decided to be his friend, since he was almost always alone. So every time that she saw him, she gave him a big smile and a hello. Usually he nodded, or stared at her blankly, but some days he would reply with a polite hello._

* * *

" _Why don't you want people to enter?" Hana asked she could feel her eyelids growing heavy._

" _Cause I don't like people," Itachi replied._

" _Why?" Hana asked he scowled._

" _They're annoying," he said looking down at her, " like you."_

" _Well your annoying," she said resting her head in the crook of his neck again, " so you should get along well with me." She trailed off as she fell into sleep, inhaling his scent she sighed, feeling safe in his arms._

* * *

" _Itachi! OPEN THIS DOOR!" she shouted while still trying to break down the door, then it opened, and she felt the fist that was about to hit the door, hit something softer, mainly Itachi's nose. He grunted removing her fist and holding his nose._

" _What the hell are you doing?" he snarled, checking if his nose was bleeding, " all you hand to do was turn the bloody doorknob! Usuratonkachi!"_

" _Oh," Hana said awkwardly, trying the doorknob, " I see." Itachi rolled his eyes and walked back over to his desk, and started to write. She walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning against the desk, resting her head on top of the desk. Itachi muttered something as he moved her ponytail off the paper that he was trying to write on. She sighed loudly, and heard him grinding his teeth so smirking she started whistling. He let out a low growl, and she stopped until the pen had touched the paper again, then she started up again. This continued for some time until Itachi stood up angrily knocking his chair to the floor._

" _What do you want!?" he snapped angrily, she looked up at him calmly and shrugged, he closed his eyes, counting to ten, then he stood his chair up and sat down again._

" _Hey Itachi?" Hana said staring at the ceiling, she heard his low murmur of acknowledgement, " sorry I hit you."_

" _It's fine," he said, she pulled out a kunai and started spinning it in her hand, " why are you here?"_

" _We should go and get some food," Hana said looking back at him, he stared at her blankly, " well I skipped breakfast and you must be hungry. So lets go get some yakisoba!"_

" _I don't like yakisoba," Itachi said wrinkling his nose, Hana rolled her eyes and stood up heading for the door, his voice stopped her, " but I might be up for some dango…"_

" _All right!" Hana said smiling, Itachi sighed, " dango it is!"_

" _Yeah, fine," he said picking up a paper and reading it, " but I need to finish this report first…"_

" _Screw the report," Hana said grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the desk, he barely had time to hit the light before she hauled him out the door, " you need to lighten up and have some fun!"_

* * *

" _Hana," he said slowly, she looked up and he saw the glint of a tear in her eye, so pushing his cold self down he walked over, and placed a finger under her chin raising it so he looked in her eyes, " I didn't kill Shisui, and they aren't taking me anywhere." She nodded, but didn't look convinced, so he pulled her into a soft embrace, one of her hands on his upper arm, the other gripping his shirt. His hands held her close to him; he stepped back and looked her in the eye._

" _Promise?" Hana asked him holding out her hand, " promise you won't leave?" Itachi stared at her hand, for a long time then he turned away._

" _I need to get back to the Uchiha estate," he said as he began walking, " I'll see you later, Hana." She remained watching the Uchiha fan on his back, until he was out of sight. Looking down at her hand, she sighed; he couldn't promise that he wouldn't leave._

* * *

" _Itachi," Hana whispered running over to him, and throwing herself into his arms, he caught her, surprised, " I'm so glad your okay. I was worried about you."_

" _Hana," he whispered, looking down at the young woman, who was gripping his shirt tightly, " why did you come here?"_

" _Someone killed your clan," she said looking up at him, " I needed to make sure that you were okay." Itachi was silent; he realized that she didn't know that he had killed them all._

" _What are you going to do about the murderer?" Hana asked him, he closed his eyes and opened them revealing his mangekyou sharingan, " what… what is that? Is that the mangekyou? But you can only get that by killing your…" Hana trailed off as the pieces fell into place, she released Itachi and stumbled backwards._

" _Yes Hana, I killed Shisui," Itachi said softly, she shook her head, " I also killed my entire clan."_

" _No," Hana said trying to smile, like it was a joke, " you wouldn't… I can't believe you! You killed your entire clan! How could you do that!"_

" _It needed to be done," he replied calmly as she dropped down onto the bed._

" _That's why you wouldn't promise that you wouldn't leave," Hana whispered looking up at him, " but you're Itachi! The Uchiha prodigy, the village's pride! The man I…"_

" _Hana," Itachi said softly, kneeling in front of her, wiping away a tear, " that person you knew, the person you care about, is merely a dream. A person I pretended to be, it was a dream, Hana, nothing more."_

" _I like dreaming," Hana snapped angrily, as the tears came more quickly, " I want to keep dreaming."_

" _Someday all dreams have to end," Itachi said sadly, " I am sorry Hana, you were the one person in the village that I liked. Thank you, for getting me to have a little fun."_

* * *

" _I came by," he said quickly, " you weren't here. And like I'm going to just walk up to the Inuzuka compound and ask if Hana can come out and play."_

" _Jerk," she said standing and going back to the desk, " you shouldn't of come back. I didn't want to see you anyways, I never missed you once."_

" _Ah, I can see that," he standing behind her, she stared intently at the scroll but she couldn't actually read it with him behind her, " I see that's my old headband your wearing." Hana froze, she had completely forgotten. Standing she pushed him away and walked to the door, but he appeared in front of her. Right in front of her, she walked right into his chest; he was still taller than her. Stepping back she felt his arms catch hers, and looking up into his eyes, she saw the old Itachi again. The Itachi that he had said was a dream, for a moment, just a moment, Hana felt like everything was okay again, like he hadn't left. Itachi saw this and leaning forward he captured her lips in a kiss, feeling her shock he bit her lower lips making her gasp in pain, using that to let his tongue dart into her mouth. His hands pulled her against him as she raised her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his midnight hair, she moaned in pleasure as his tongue explored her mouth. After what seemed like days, he broke the kiss, leaving her leaning against him. If he hadn't of been holding her, she was sure that she would have collapsed. Looking up into his eyes, she suddenly saw sadness forming in them._

* * *

" _Hana," Itachi said softly, catching her arms, he raised her head and brushed away a tear with the back of his hand, " I'm sorry. Kurenai and I were a thing, before I left. She kissed me and I ended it, besides, your getting married."_

" _It's an arranged marriage," Hana said softly, his hand was still on her cheek, " my mother set it up. I don't want to marry that bastard."_

" _Hana, I can't change this," Itachi whispered leaning his head in to brush her lips, her eyes closed as she moved against him, " if I could change this I would. But your mother hates me, and it has already been arranged. And what we're doing right now is wrong." He moved away, Hana remained where she was._

" _I'm sorry I was too late," he whispered forming hand seals, she rushed forward, " I'm in the way again." He vanished in a puff of smoke, and she ran right through where he was._

* * *

" _Ah," he said placing the familiar wolf mask over his face, Hana looked at him, it was the old Itachi again, " let's go." The four behind him vanished, but Hana had grabbed his shirt, he glanced down. Before he could stop her, she had pushed his mask up and pressed her lips to his. He didn't have time to react before she released him and pushed him away._

" _Be careful," was all that she said before he vanished._

* * *

" Everyone says, it will get better," Hana sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself while the tears flowed, " that it comes in waves and one day it will stop hurting. But it doesn't come in waves it's constant. I miss you… I miss you so much. I don't know how to do this without you. I love you so much that every time I think I'm never going to see you again, I laugh… because it sounds like the stupidest thing in the world to me. I don't want to do this without you Itachi… I'm not going to do this without you." Reaching down she slowly pulled out a kunai and raised it. As the blade neared her throat, she felt a pair of hands catch hers. Glancing up she gasped.

" Itachi?" she whispered, the young man smiled sadly, " it's not you is it."

" Hana," the echoing voice said sadly, "I can live on, in you… you have so much to live for. Don't throw your future away for me, because you and I are one. I'll always be with you, just look over your shoulder and I'll be right there. So don't give up… 'cause I'm always going to be right here. You're living for the both of us now, so don't die 'kay?" Hana reached out a hand as Itachi vanished.

" Okay, Itachi," she whispered, running her fingers over his name again, " okay."

* * *

" Phew, looks like I made it in time," Tsunade exhaled in relief, Shizune nodded, " I think she'll be okay now. Good thing I'm brilliant at genjutsu though."

" Of course Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, staring through the trees at Hana, " and you're lucky she fell for it."

" Of course, of course," Tsunade sighed, glancing at Hana who was walking away from the memorial, " I need a drink. This was a pretty stupid idea."

* * *

Okay so you know that little go button below this? It's my favorite button, so start hitting it! P


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